Southwest Michigan teens help lead discussions on race as part of Kalamazoo Valley Museum exhibit

John A. Lacko | Special to the GazetteRandy Wood and Kathi Brenner, both of Kalamazoo, look at a display of multiethnic people with partial roots in Asia, part of the exhibit "RACE: Are We So Different?" at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.

This story is part of an occasional series about racial issues that the Kalamazoo Gazette will publish while the nationally touring exhibit — "RACE: Are We So Different?" — runs at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum through Jan. 2.

KALAMAZOO — On Saturdays, Western Michigan University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion hosts teen discussion groups on race in conjunction with the exhibit, “RACE: Are We So Different?” at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.

Demarra Gardner, contracted by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at WMU, has organized multiple discussion sessions to coincide with the exhibit. So far, 50 teens ranging in age from 12 to 18 have attended the five public sessions held at KVCC’s downtown campus and two private sessions held by the Girl Scouts of America and the Jack and Jill Club.

When asked what she would like to see as a result of this program, Gardner responded, “I’d like to see that teens are enlightened and they feel like they have a stake in this. They have the ability to make change and they see themselves as powerful. I’d like them to have more of a race consciousness.”

The Nov. 13 session was led by Isaac Terrell Anderson, 15, a student at Kalamazoo Central High School, and Tyrell Wilks-Williams, 15, a student at Loy Norrix High School.

The boys are two of 13 teen leaders chosen and trained by Gardner to facilitate these weekly discussion sessions.

The teen leaders meet with Gardner twice a month to cultivate leadership skills. They were required to apply for the position, complete an application, and were interviewed.

“The teens were chosen based on their passion for this work and their yearning to learn more on this topic,” said Gardner.

NATIONAL RACE EXHIBIT

What: "RACE: Are We So Different?" exhibit.

Who:
The installation, created by the American Anthropological Association
and The Science Museum of Minnesota, is designed to spur a national
dialogue on race. It explores the subject from biological, historical
and human points of view, using photographs, movies and interactive
displays.

For private facilitated conversations: Call Leah Catherman at the YWCA at 269-345-5595.

They attended a two-day Miracle Camp Workshop, which highlighted topics related to the exhibit. They also visited the race exhibit as a group.

Gardner provides individualized coaching after each session to discuss what went well and what can be improved upon. Each week she conducts a check-in with the teens to see how she can help. “The teens take a major lead on marketing efforts,” said Gardner, clarifying that her role is just to push them and challenge them.

Before each session, the teen leaders attend the exhibit and personally invite teens to the discussion group, held Saturdays from 3 to 5 p.m. The teens drive the content of the meetings.

According to Gardner, the teen leaders have had seven requests for private third-party discussion groups to date.

At the meeting last Saturday, Jarrae King, 17, of Battle Creek, remarked on the display representing the disparity in wealth distribution among different ethnic groups. “It hurt me that blacks were lower than all the other races.”

When asked about racist comments in school she shared, “I am teased more by my own race for my dark skin.”

She mentioned the video that discussed a study showing children choosing a doll.

“Fifteen out of 25 African-American children chose a white doll over a black doll,” she said.

The exhibit had a display tracing migration patterns of humans throughout history, showing that all ethnic groups have descended from African roots.

King commented, “I don’t know what color you are — we are all from Africa!”

Jassmyn Davis, 12, of Kalamazoo said, “People assume that I am rich because I am white. I have been asked, ‘Do your parents go to a golf club and do you have a Rolex watch?’”

John A. Lacko | Special to the GazetteElijah Brayboy, 10, his brother Corbin, 5 and their father Corshawn look at a display regarding skin color in the Kalamazoo Valley Museum exhibit "RACE: Are We So Different?" on Thursday afternoon. The exhibit runs through Jan. 2.

Nettie Galaviz, who attended last weekend’s discussion group with her children, said that they are asked if they can “jump over the counter” and other such remarks that make reference to illegal immigrants. Galaviz shared, “During (Hurricane) Katrina, one newspaper showed white people with knapsacks getting food for survival while another article talked of a black person doing the same thing but it was referred to as looting.”

Wilks-Williams, one of the teen leaders, talked about being offended when someone asked if his school, Loy Norrix, had metal detectors.

“It bothers me that it’s a school that supposedly you think that it has metal detectors,” he said.

Courtney Asselin, 14, of Paw Paw, commented on the bones display in the exhibit that discussed anthropological forensics. “You can’t determine race by bones.” She added, “Discrimination doesn’t have a point. It’s like having a black dog and a white dog. They’re all dogs, just different colors.”